It is my intention to preach several discourses this evening, but how
many I do not know.
I will in the first place bear testimony to the truth of many remarks
made by brother Hunter, and especially his exhortation to the
Seventies and Elders, and those men who wish to go on missions. I wish
also to urge the necessity of your proceeding on your missions
immediately, and of going to the place of your destination full of the
Holy Ghost, preaching righteousness to the people; and while you do
this, live up to the principles you preach, that you may teach also by
your example, as well as by precept. Go, ye Elders, and now consider
yourselves from this time forth missionaries. If the Gospel is in you
like a flaming fire, to be poured upon the people, gather your
neighbors together, and give your brethren an invitation to your
house, and set before them the duties of man; and preach, if you can
speak but for five minutes, occupying that time to the best advantage.
Continue to preach, study, and learn, by faith and prayer, until your
minds and mouths are opened, and you understand most perfectly the
love of Christ.
It is not uncommon for Elders to say, "If I could have a mission, and
be sent among strangers, I could speak to them, because they have not
been instructed in the way of life and salvation; I could lay before
them the principles of the Gospel, which have been taught to me,
without that diffidence of feeling, and fear, which I experience while
speaking to my brethren." It is very true that the first principles of
the Gospel taught by the Elders of this Church are easy to be
understood, compared with what it is to preach them to our families,
or to our neighborhood, and to govern and control ourselves by the
principles of righteousness which the Gospel inculcates. Again, to
gather the Saints, to preach the Gospel to the world, and convince
them of the truth, are much easier tasks than to convince men that you
can master yourself, and practice the moral principles inculcated by
your religion. That is a small portion of the duty required of you in
order to obtain crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives. I
will here remark, that it is natural for the people to desire to know
a great deal of the mysteries; this, however, is not universally the
case, though it is so with a great many of the Elders of Israel. I do
not suppose it will apply to those who compose this congregation; your
object in being here this evening is not to hear some great mystery of
the Kingdom, which you never understood before. The greatest mystery a
man ever learned, is to know how to control the human mind, and bring
every faculty and power of the same in subjection to Jesus Christ;
this is the greatest mystery we have to learn while in these
tabernacles of clay. It is more necessary for the Elders to learn and
practice upon this lesson in the midst of the Saints at headquarters
than in the world; for their facilities for learning are much greater,
and I will tell you wherein. Let a Bishop, a High Priest, a President
of any Stake or Quorum, any who are Elders in Israel, or any
individual Saint from the first to the last of them, fall into error,
and it is at once made manifest; he cannot pursue that course any
further, for he is where he can learn his duties, and know how to walk
straight in the paths of righteousness. Here is the place for you to
teach great mysteries to your brethren, because here are those who can
correct you. This fault the Elders of Israel do not fall into in this
Tabernacle, although they may in private houses and neighborhoods.
When a man is capable of correcting you, and of giving you light, and
true doctrine, do not get up an altercation, but submit to be taught
like little children, and strive with all your might to understand.
The privileges of those who dwell here are greater than the privileges
of those who are abroad. When your duties call you into foreign lands,
and you there exhaust your stock of knowledge and wisdom, and you are
not in possession of the keys to obtain that instruction which you
desire, it is because you are far from the right fountain—far from the
body, where all the members are in lively operation—where the eye can
see, the ear hear, the nose smell, and the mouth speak, and so forth.
When your face is turned from the body, let mysteries alone, for this
is the only place for you to be corrected if wrong. Preach the simple,
unadorned truth; work out your salvation with diligence, and do that
which will guarantee you a warranted deed, an undeniable title to
eternal lives.
If you feel prayer in you, pray; and if you feel the spirit of
preaching in you, preach; call in your brethren, and read the Bible,
the Book of Mormon, the Book of Covenants, and the other revelations
of God to them; and talk over the things contained in those books, and
deal them out to your brethren and neighbors; pray with them, and
teach them how to control themselves; and let your teachings be
sustained by your own example. Teach your families how to control
themselves; teach them good and wholesome doctrine, and practice the
same in your own lives. This is the place for you to become polished
shafts in the quiver of the Almighty. This will answer for one sermon.
I feel much inclined to talk to the brethren: I have not had the
privilege of preaching much for some time, because of the
inconvenience of our former meeting place. Now, as we have a good,
convenient place to meet in, and my health will serve me, I expect to
improve the time. I love to preach at home with the Saints. I love to
meet with them, and look upon their happy countenances, lit up with
the joys of eternity. In short, I love the society of all good men,
and to preach salvation to them.
You may consider what I shall now lay before you a small matter; but I
think it of some importance. When the Elders of Israel leave this
place and go forth among the wicked, it is not their privilege to
mingle with them in any of their worldly exercises; for if they do,
the devil will obtain an advantage over them, and succeed in drawing
them away from the path
of their duty. For instance—suppose you and I,
with many more of the brethren, meet together in a convenient place in
the Valley, and dance to the sweet strains of the violin; we could do
so with a perfect good will; but if we should be called to England, and
there have an invitation to join with the wicked in their
pastimes and recreations, and we in our feelings bow down to this, and
suffer our spirits to be subject to their commandments, we suffer
ourselves to be ruled over by them, and at once become their servants.
While I am here, I am in the midst of the Priesthood of heaven, and
in the center of the kingdom of God. We are before the Lord, where
every hand I shake is the hand of a Saint, and every face I see, when
I look upon the assembled thousands, is the countenance of a Saint. I
am the controller and master of affairs here, under Heaven's
direction; though there are those who do not believe this. I invite
those who are not subject to me as their President, not to contaminate
my friends; for were I and my friends to become subject to those who
object to us, we are then on the ground of the devil, and subject
ourselves to him they serve.
Never suffer yourselves to mingle in any of those recreations that
tend to sin and iniquity, while you are away from the body of the
Church, where you cannot so fully control yourselves. Let the Elders
who are going out from this place carry this instruction with them
into the other portions of the earth. Whatever a man does, let him do
it in the name of the Lord—let him work in the name of the Lord, let
all his acts through life be in the name of the Lord; and if he wants
light and knowledge, let him ask in that name.
You are well aware that the wickedness of the world, or the apostasy
of the Church, is so great, that those who now profess religion cannot
enjoy their own natural privileges in the world. In many places their
folly and superstition are so great that they would consider they had
committed the sin of blasphemy if they happened to hear a violin. The
whole world could not hire a good, honest, sound Presbyterian, of the
old fashion and cut, to look into a room where a company of young men
and women were dancing, lest they should sin against the Holy Ghost.
This overrighteous notion is imbibed by the generality of professors
of religion, but it is because they themselves have made it a sin. Let
us look at the root of the matter. In the first place, some wise being
organized my system, and gave me my capacity, put into my heart and
brain something that delights, charms, and fills me with rapture at
the sound of sweet music. I did not put it there; it was some other
being. As one of the modern writers has said, "Music hath charms to
soothe the savage breast." It has been proved that sweet music will
actually tame the most malicious and venomous beasts, even when they
have been stirred up to violent wrath, and make them docile and
harmless as lambs. Who gave the lower animals a love for those sweet
sounds, which with magic power fill the air with harmony, and cheer
and comfort the hearts of men, and so wonderfully affect the brute
creation? It was the Lord, our heavenly Father, who gave the capacity
to enjoy these sounds, and which we ought to do in His name, and to
His glory. But the greater portion of the sectarian world consider it
sacrilege to give way to any such pleasure as even to listen to sweet
music, much more to dance to its delightful strains. This is another
short sermon.
I wish now to say a few words to the brethren upon the subject of
tithing. It is well known to the majority of this Conference what
transpired, last Conference, upon the stand in the old Bowery. At that
Conference I had good cause to find fault with the Bishops, and I took
the liberty to brush them down a little. From that day to this there
has been more accomplished by our Bishops in the short space of seven
months, than was accomplished by them for the space of years
previously. This gives me great satisfaction. The Bishops have done as
well as men could do: their conduct in fulfilling the duties of their
calling has truly been praiseworthy, and I feel to bless them, and
pray the Lord to bless them all the day long, for they have done first
rate. When we consider the ignorance of the world, their unbelief in
God, and realize that the veil of the covering is over the face of all
nations, and remember the ignorance we were once in ourselves, having
to commence like babes at the rudiments of learning, knowing also how
faltering men are in their faith, and then look at what this people
have accomplished, we are led to exclaim, "It is marvelous in our
eyes!" Were I to say, "Elders of Israel, you that feel to put your all
upon the altar, rise upon your feet," who would be left? [All present
rose up simultaneously.] Where is there another people upon the earth
who would have done this? I have no tithing, but all—all I have is the
Lord's. You know the word sacrifice: as brother Banks said today, it
is a mere burlesque—a nonsensical term. No man ever heard me say I had
made a sacrifice. I possess nothing but what my heavenly Father has
been pleased to give me, or, in other words, He has loaned it to me
while I remain here in this mortal flesh.
Is it not marvelous, considering the weakness of man, to see the
willingness of this whole people to die if necessary for the truth?
How do you suppose it makes me feel? Though I may sometimes chastise
my brethren, and speak to them in the language of reproof, there is
not a father who feels more tenderly towards his offspring, and loves
them better than I love this people; and my Father in heaven loves
them; my heart yearns over them with all the emotions of tenderness,
so that I could weep like a child; but I am careful to keep my tears
to myself. If you do wrong, it grieves my heart, and it also grieves
the heart of my heavenly Father. I feel continually to urge my
brethren to cease from all evil, and learn to do well.
The fullness of the heavens and the earth is the Lord's—the gold and
the silver, the wheat, the fine flour, and the cattle upon a thousand
hills; and when we fully understand His works, we shall know that He
is in all the earth, and fulfills His will among the children of men,
exalting and debasing them according to His pleasure; for the systems,
creeds, thrones, and kingdoms of the world are all under His control.
"Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it" —or that
He doth not control? The Lord controls the whole; and in the end, you
will find He has regulated all things right, for all will be
consummated to His glory.
The children of men are made as independent in their sphere as the
Lord is in His, to prove themselves, pursue which path they please,
and choose the evil or the good. For those who love the Lord, and do
His will, all is right, and they shall be crowned, but those who hate
His ways shall be damned, for they choose to be damned.
As I was meditating on the philosophy of the day, it occurred to my
mind how visible it must appear to all eyes that the Lord does indeed
work, that it is He who blesses this people; and yet it seems as
though they cannot see His hand. The Lord fills the immensity of
space. What saith the Psalmist? "Whither shall I go from thy spirit?
or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven,
thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I
take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the
sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me." I was trying to think
of the place where God is not, but it is impossible, unless you can
find empty space; and there I believe He is not. If you can find such
a place, it will become useful for a hiding place to those who wish to
hide themselves from the presence of the Lord, in the great day of
accounts. I will close this sermon, as I intend to preach another
before I present the subject I more particularly wish to speak upon.
My next sermon will be to both Saint and sinner. One thing has
remained a mystery in this kingdom up to this day. It is in regard to
the character of the well-beloved Son of God, upon which subject the
Elders of Israel have conflicting views. Our God and Father in heaven,
is a being of tabernacle, or, in other words, He has a body, with
parts the same as you and I have; and is capable of showing forth His
works to organized beings, as, for instance, in the world in which we
live, it is the result of the knowledge and infinite wisdom that dwell
in His organized body. His son Jesus Christ has become a personage of
tabernacle, and has a body like his father. The Holy Ghost is the
Spirit of the Lord, and issues forth from Himself, and may properly be
called God's minister to execute His will in immensity; being called
to govern by His influence and power; but He is not a person of
tabernacle as we are, and as our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ
are. The question has been, and is often, asked, who it was that begat
the Son of the Virgin Mary. The infidel world have concluded that if
what the Apostles wrote about his father and mother be true, and the
present marriage discipline acknowledged by Christendom be correct,
then Christians must believe that God is the father of an illegitimate
son, in the person of Jesus Christ! The infidel fraternity teach that
to their disciples. I will tell you how it is. Our Father in Heaven
begat all the spirits that ever were, or ever will be, upon this
earth; and they were born spirits in the eternal world. Then the Lord
by His power and wisdom organized the mortal tabernacle of man. We
were made first spiritual, and afterwards temporal.
Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and
sinner! When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came
into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with
him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael, the
Archangel, the Ancient of Days! about whom holy men have written and
spoken—He is our
Father and our God,
and the only God with whom we
have to do. Every man upon the earth, professing Christians or
non-professing, must hear it, and will know it sooner or later. They
came here, organized the raw material, and arranged in their order the
herbs of the field, the trees, the apple, the peach, the plum, the
pear, and every other fruit that is desirable and good for man; the
seed was brought from another sphere, and planted in this earth. The
thistle, the thorn, the brier, and the obnoxious weed did not appear
until after the earth was cursed. When Adam and Eve had eaten of the
forbidden fruit, their bodies became mortal from its effects, and
therefore their offspring were mortal. When the Virgin Mary conceived
the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own likeness. He
was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. And who is the Father? He is the
first of the human family; and when he took a tabernacle, it was
begotten by his Father in heaven, after the same manner as the
tabernacles of Cain, Abel, and the rest of the sons and daughters of
Adam and Eve; from the fruits of the earth, the first earthly
tabernacles were originated by the Father, and so on in
succession. I could tell you much more about this; but were I to tell
you the whole truth, blasphemy would be nothing to it, in the
estimation of the superstitious and overrighteous of mankind.
However, I have told you the truth as far as I have gone. I have heard
men preach upon the divinity of Christ, and exhaust all the wisdom
they possessed. All Scripturalists, and approved theologians who were
considered exemplary for piety and education, have undertaken to
expound on this subject, in every age of the Christian era; and after
they have done all, they are obliged to conclude by exclaiming "great
is the mystery of godliness," and tell nothing.
It is true that the earth was organized by three distinct characters,
namely, Eloheim, Yahovah, and Michael, these three forming a quorum,
as in all heavenly bodies, and in organizing element, perfectly
represented in the Deity, as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Again, they will try to tell how the divinity of Jesus is joined to
his humanity, and exhaust all their mental faculties, and wind up with
this profound language, as describing the soul of man, "it is an
immaterial substance!" What a learned idea! Jesus, our elder brother,
was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the garden
of Eden, and who is our Father in Heaven. Now, let all who may hear
these doctrines, pause before they make light of them, or treat them
with indifference, for they will prove their salvation or damnation.
I have given you a few leading items upon this subject, but a great
deal more remains to be told. Now, remember from this time forth, and
forever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. I will
repeat a little anecdote. I was in conversation with a certain learned
professor upon this subject, when I replied, to this idea—"if the Son
was begotten by the Holy Ghost, it would be very dangerous to baptize
and confirm females, and give the Holy Ghost to them, lest he should
beget children, to be palmed upon the Elders by the people, bringing
the Elders into great difficulties."
Treasure up these things in your hearts. In the Bible, you have read
the things I have told you tonight; but you have not known what you
did read. I have told you no more than you are conversant with; but
what do the people in Christendom, with the Bible in their hands, know
about this subject? Comparatively nothing.
I will now again take up the subject of tithing. The brethren have
done well. They have been willing and obedient, no people could have
been more so; for this I thank my Father in Heaven. I could not wish a
people to work more kindly in the yoke of Jesus than this people do;
the yoke grows more and more easy to them. It seems that every man
will not only pay his tithing, but give all he has, if the Lord
requires it: still I see wherein they may do better. I asked the
people today to assist to pay our Church liabilities. The offer of
three or four yoke of oxen only, we do not want; but I will lay before
you what we wish you to do. By the manifesto which has been read, you
have learned the precise situation of the property of the Church. What
has incurred this debt? Why does it exist in the shape in which it now
appears? And wherein could we have obviated the difficulty, and done
better? A fourth part of the money already paid out, did not come in
upon tithing. This money we have had to borrow in order to keep the
public works in progress. You may say, wherein could we have done
better, for we have paid our tithing punctually? But has that brother,
who sent $100 back to the East for merchandise, paid $10 of it
into the tithing office? Or did the brother who has sent $500 back,
let us have $50? No; these have used it themselves, and thereby
involved those who bear the responsibilities of the Trust. Again,
those who have not possessed sufficient money to send back for
merchandise, have been necessitated to pay out what they had.
Thousands of dollars have been paid here for merchandise. Has
one-tenth of all that money been paid into the tithing office? It has
not. And where is the tithing that should have come in from England
and California. Instead of tithing their money, they have used it for
other purposes, and paid it in property, with which we could not pay
our debts. This is wherein we have failed to liquidate our debts. The
people go to these Gentile stores, on the Saturday, in crowds, to
purchase goods. I think we shall not overrate the amount, if we say
that $500,000 has been paid, in these valleys, to the merchants. But
suppose they have received no more than $50,000 from this community,
$5,000 of that money ought to have been first paid into the tithing
office; and we could have sent it to the States, and purchased goods
ourselves, for one-third or one-half less than we have to pay the
merchants here. And $25,000 more should have come into the tithing
office from the Church in the United States. The brethren in
California have made no less than $100,000; the tenth of which is due
this tithing office. For want of this money, we are brought into
bondage and we must now apply our faith and works to raise means to
liquidate our indebtedness, which has accumulated by purchasing goods
at high and extortionate prices. I find no fault with the merchants,
for they came here to gather gold by the hundred weight.
Now, brethren, and Bishops, look over this matter, and try to think
what your feelings would be if you were laid under the same
responsibility that I and my brethren have upon our shoulders. We are
required to see the Gospel preached to the nations afar off, to build
council houses and temples, to cope with the united wisdom and craft
of legislative assemblies, and with the powers of darkness in high
places; and then place yourselves in the circumstances we are now
placed in! Besides all this, see the hundreds who come to us everyday
to be administered to in various ways: some want fruit, some sugar,
others tea, and all want clothing, &c. Then step into our private
rooms, where we commune with the people, and you will see and hear all
this, and a great deal more. Instead of every man bringing his
picayune, or his sixpence, or his $5, &c., as tithing on the money in
his possession, it is all used for something else, and the storehouse
of the Lord is left empty. Suppose nothing had been put in there but
what the people have put in, the workmen would have been naked. Walk
into the storehouse, and examine for yourselves. To be sure there has
been a little clothing put in lately; for instance, there was an old
silk dress put in for $40, that had been lying for years rotting in
the chest: this is a specimen of the rest. What are such things worth
to our workmen? Why, nothing at all. We wish you to put in strong and
substantial clothing. Good, strong, homemade stuffs make the most
suitable clothing for those who are building up the public works.
Will you help us out of this thralldom, and have it credited to your
future tithing? There is already a great deal more due than would
liquidate all our debts, but we cannot command it now. Do you feel
willing to put your shoulder to the wheel, and continue to roll it
forward, and still continue, you that have faith to con tinue, to increase in faith? For the business of this kingdom will increase,
and the responsibility also; the labor will and must grow, and
continue to increase, until the kingdoms of this world become the
kingdom of our God and His Christ. So much on tithing; you see where
the failure is; it is in that point, and nowhere else.
It is not for any man to think he is a cipher—that what he can do will
not tell in this matter, and say, "They will get along well enough
without me;" but it is every man's duty to lay it to heart, and help
what he can with his earthly substance; though I wish you to
understand distinctly that it is no commandment—you are left to act
freely.
Let all the sheep stay in the Valley; also the cows; for they will
give milk and butter, and replenish the stock. But when we speak of
the horses, mules, and oxen, let every man look up his spare stock of
this description, and with them help to liquidate these debts. Stock
will now pay debts. I will use my stock for this purpose, and my
brethren will do the same, until we have enough. I do not enjoin this
upon you, as you have already paid the tithing which is required of
you; except in some instances in the
money tithing. Had we received
the money due to us, we should have had no debts; but this failure has
been, and is now, in existence. I will take every kind of spare stock
I have, except my cows and sheep, and wipe off these debts until they
are cancelled; and now every man who will do the same, let him rise
upon his feet. [The whole congregation of two thousand men rose up to
a man.] Do you suppose we want to deprive you of your teams? It is not
so, but we wished to know the state of your faith, so that when we are
ready to call upon you, we can be sure our call will be responded to.
I would not cripple any man, I would rather give him five yoke of
oxen, than destroy his team, and you know it. [Some of the brethren in
the stand, not believing their own eyes, that the whole congregation
rose, it was tried over again, to satisfy them, when the congregation
all rose again to a man.] Brother Hunter now knows what to do. Many of
the brethren are killing their calves; don't do this; if you cannot
raise them, it will be better to give them away to those who can.
I bless you, and may the Lord bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.